Improvement in sheet-metal cans



A.v A; CL'APPERT.

- SHEET-METAL cANs.

No.178,501 Patented June 13, 1875.

NFETERS. PNOTO-LITMOGRAPKER, WASHINGTON, D C

PATENT @Prion ALFRED AUGUSTE CHEVALLIER-APPERT, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEET-METAL CAN'S.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 178,501, dated June 13, 1876; application filed March l1, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED AUGUST GHEVALLIER-APPERT, of Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Metal Cans for Preserving Food, of

'which the following is a specification:

My invention in sheet-metal preserving-caiis is an improvement on the system of Appert and Fastier, now in extensive use.

In the arrangement of the metallic can with leaden tube in the Fastier system, several serious inconveniences are experienced. There is a considerable loss of material in consequence of the discharge of thejuice or liquid essence of the meat-s, which escapes with the steam during the boiling operation. The sides ofthe can are also apt to buckle in, in vconsequence of the great difference existing between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal pressure when the gases within the can cool. The cans also are never full when opened. Moreover, difficulty is experienced from the projection of the tube above the plane of the'top of the can. This prevents the cans from being closely and compactly packed, and often necessitates the employment of a hood or covering capsule for the tube.

My invention has for its object the removal of these difliculties; and to this end it consists of a metallic can provided with convex" depressible ends, in one of which is a softmetal tube and a valve, as hereinafter specied. u

The employment of iiat plane plates for closing the ends of the can was in reality the prime cause ot' all the inconveniences above named; but it is only after long and careful study that I have discovered that the same may be obviated or ameliorated to a great ex- `tent by the simple modification of employing convex or bulging end plates. A brief con-V sidera-tion of the matter will suffice to explain why this result is attained. In theA iirst place, the loss of juices, while not completely suppressed, is greatly diminished, because this convex form facilitates the formation, on the under side of the top, of liquid drops, which fall back into the body of the can while the gases escape. Then the can, by the use of the convex ends a and b, has increased capacity7 without change in its dimensions, and

this construction offers the great advantage that when the cooking or boiling operation is completed, and the tube d closed, a light pressure on the ends will suice to depress them, and to cause them to assume a concave form, as shown in the drawing, where the depressed top is indicated by dotted lines.

By this operation I diminish notably the interior space occupied by the gases, and augment the internal pressure to such an extent that the difference between the internal and external pressures is no longer noticeable, and I thus prevent the buckling of the sides of the can. Finally, and this is practically one of the most important results, I am enabled to pack the sealed cans closely, because when the top is depressed it carries with it the tube, which no longer, therefore, projects above the top ofthe can, so that the cans may be superposed one on the other readily and Without any loss of space.

To facilitate the m an ufacture of myimproved form of can, I have been compelled to devise new apparatus, which may be best described by reference tothe accompanying drawing.

Figure 2 is a section ot' the table of an ordinary soldering apparatus.

In the manufacture ofcans with lat bottoms, it suffices to place the can on'the table A, and fto'lold it in place by means of adjustable feet or clamps b during the soldering of the ends; but with my' cans I have encountered much difficulty in using the ordinary soldering apparatus for the soldering to the cover of the tube d and the valve m, which is located on the under side of the cover, below the tube. This difficulty I have overcome by the employment of a mandrel, c, having a top concave to correspond with the convexity ofthe can top, and having an opening through its center for the purpose hereinafter described. This manaud pins e. By removing the latter, the mandrel can be disengaged from the table Whenever it is so desired. In order to solder the bottoni I) to the sides of the can F, it is only necessary to place the can in the position shown in Fig. 2, with its open end resting on the table and tting the mandrel. To solder the tube l to the cover ci, the cover is put on the mandrel in the position indicated in Fig.

drel is fixed to the table A by means of feet clv e I we,

3. I then, by'means of a punch, L, on which is previously fitted a short tube, d, pierce the center of the cover, which is ascertained by a mark made When the cover is stamped up. Vhile the punch thus remains in the cover and-centers the tube d, I solder the latter to the cover. rIhere is thus no danger of the tube and hole in the cover not registering. When the solder is sutciently set I remove' the punch and place the'cover bottomk upward in the mandrel, as shown in Fig. 4. The cover ts in the concave face of the mandrel, and the tube d is received in the central depression or opening in the mandrel. The valve m is then soldered to the cover in the usual Way.

The mandrel thus serves for all the operations necessary in the preparation oi' the can.

In order to still further facilitate the Work, I can mount a series of soldering devices on a circular revolving frame. A number of cans previously positioned can thus be brought in succession before the solderer, Who will operate on each, and then leave the after care of them to an attendant.

It has heretofore been customary to close the tube d by means of pinchers; but in order to escape all danger of accident which might result from any sudden blow which would tend to bend the tube and to permit access of air to interior ot the can, I employ with advantage a mode ot' closing the tube which consists in giving it, by means of a tool, I?, Fig. 5, specially designed for the purpose, the form of a conical teat, as seen in Fig. 6, which projects comparatively little from the cover. A rapid rotary movement is communicated to the tool P by suitable means, the effect of which is to consolidate and squeeze together.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nam e` to this specification before two subscribing Witnesses.

i A. A. cHnvALLInn-Arrnn'r Witnesses:

' EMILE BARRAULT,

AUG. VrNcK. 

